Awards promote child safety

Yvonne Gardiner
Columnist
I became a cadet reporter on The Ipswich Advertiser in 1989, when I was 38 years of age. Six months after completion of my cadetship, I became editor. I have edited The Ipswich Advertiser and The Satellite, and have been chief reporter for The Queensland Times. After semi-retiring in 2013, I work as a casual sub-editor and columnist. Main interests are my four grandchildren, theatre, the natural environment and travelling.

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CHILD protection awards, to be handed out for the first time in Ipswich, will recognise achievers and heighten awareness of child safety.

The awards will also promote the services available in the city that deal with child abuse and neglect.

Detective Senior Sergeant Troy Salton, the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) team notification co-ordinator and Child Protection Week Committee member, said people needed to relay any concerns about a child's safety to the police or relevant departments.

He said they should never assume it was someone else's responsibility.

"Police are especially trained to deal with these matters," Senior Sergeant Salton said.

Sergeant Nadine Webster, from the Ipswich District Crime Prevention Unit, said all children had a right to feel safe and, when they didn't, should be encouraged to talk to someone they trusted in any situation.

The inaugural Ipswich Region Child Protection Week Awards are an initiative of the Ipswich District Child Protection Week Committee.